Baylor men’s basketball will play at Florida in the fifth-annual Big 12/SEC Challenge Presented By Sonic. All games in the Challenge will be played on one day in the middle of conference play for the third consecutive year – Saturday, Jan. 27.
The league offices announced all 10 matchups for the event on Thursday, though tipoff times and television networks are to be determined. Each game will air on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU, and ESPN’s College GameDay will originate from one of the 10 sites.
“The Big 12/SEC Challenge is a special weekend for both conferences,” head coach Scott Drew said. “Our teams got a chance to see each other in New York during the Sweet 16 last year, and we know that they’re a great team. Coach White has done a tremendous job at Florida, and we’re excited about another great matchup in this series.”
Baylor and Florida have met just once previously. The Bears defeated Florida 72-71 on Dec. 30, 1981, in the Cabrillo Classic in San Diego, Calif.
Baylor is the Big 12’s only undefeated team in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The Bears are 4-0 with a neutral site win vs. Kentucky, wins at Vanderbilt and at Mississippi and a home victory over Georgia. Those games improved Baylor’s record in conference challenges to a league-best 7-1, including 3-1 in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series.
Additional matchups in the Challenge include Tennessee at Iowa State, Texas A&M at Kansas, Georgia at Kansas State, Oklahoma at Alabama, Oklahoma State at Arkansas, TCU at Vanderbilt, Mississippi at Texas, Texas Tech at South Carolina and Kentucky at West Virginia.
The Big 12/SEC Challenge trophy has never left the Big 12 office, as the league has gone 3-0-1 in the previous four events. The league is 25-15 in the Challenge and retained the trophy after splitting 5-5 last season. The Big 12 is a combined 53-35 in the two conference challenge series it has played (vs. Pac-10, SEC) dating back to 2007.
2018 SEC/BIG 12 CHALLENGE PRESENTED BY SONIC (JAN. 27)
Baylor at Florida
Tennessee at Iowa State
Texas A&M at Kansas
Georgia at Kansas State
Oklahoma at Alabama
Oklahoma State at Arkansas
TCU at Vanderbilt
Mississippi at Texas
Texas Tech at South Carolina
Kentucky at West Virginia
